Rocco Parascandola, Nicholas Williams, Kerry Burke, Colin Mixson
New York Daily News
(TNS)

Bronx firefighters rescued a small child from a massive five-alarm inferno Wednesday sparked by an explosion that took one life and left 14 others with serious injuries, FDNY officials said.

Firefighters already facing a “hot and humid day” were met by heavy flames at the five-story apartment building in Norwood on E. 209th St. near Parkside Place, where the blast ignited about 12:30 p.m., according to FDNY Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore and Chief of Department Joe Esposito.

“There was some sort of explosion. It blew out window frames, it blew some of them across the street, and when our members got up to the second floor, some of the apartment doors had been blown off their hinges,” Esposito said. “This makes it very difficult to confine the fire while we’re also conducting searches.”

“It was a very unusual and an extremely dangerous position for our firefighters,” Esposito said.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the explosion, but early reports indicated that a lithium-ion battery could have been involved. 

One person was found dead on the building’s third floor, according to firefighters at the scene.

Dramatic photos taken from the scene show a firefighter on a tower ladder plucking a panicked child from a fire escape. Fourteen people were injured —  two critically —  in the blaze. Six firefighters were among the injured, officials said.

Multiple people had to be rescued as the fire spread to three floors, causing the building’s third floor to collapse, according to Bonsignore.

Video taken at the scene shows heavy red flames shooting from corner windows on the third floor as heavy smoke billowed throughout the building.

Daniel Mercado, 49, said he smelled gas outside his second-floor apartment inside the building and that the explosion occurred in a neighboring apartment. 

“I smelled gas. I started checking the house to see if anything was leaking. I checked the hallway. I sat down and an hour or two later it exploded. (The) wall fell, (the) ceiling fell,” said Mercado.

Mercado said he found the woman who lives in the building where the blast occurred in the stairwell. Her poodle was dead, he said.

“We came outside with her and she was able to walk on her own but she couldn’t talk, she was in shock,” said Mercado. “The fire was all over the closet and kitchen.”

Rah Johnson was walking with his wife when they heard a deafening boom and were struck by a torrent of shattered glass.

“It looked like a tornado instantly hit it. The way it blew like that it seemed like a gas explosion,” said Johnson. “The glass scraped (my wife’s) ear, and she was bleeding.”

Esposito said that the explosion was so massive that windows and window frames were blown “across the street”

As the fire raged, one tenant said he was anxiously awaiting news of his 12 dogs, who were trapped in his basement apartment as firefighters battled the blaze.

“They gotta suffer through all this s— and water is coming down,” said the man, who gave his name as Chris. “I just want to know they’re okay. I’ve been here for the past three hours begging (for information).”

“I rescue dogs,” he added. “I don’t want them to die in a shelter.”

The fire was declared under control at about 3:30 p.m., only for the blaze to reignite in the building’s cockloft shortly after 5 p.m., firefighters said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, officials said.

©2026 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.